Wednesday, October 2, 2002
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Web-Filtering Company Asks Judge to Throw Out Law Student's SuitBy ANDREA L. FOSTER
The Internet filtering company N2H2 Inc. is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that a Harvard University law school student brought against the firm. The student, Benjamin G. Edelman, wants a judge to clear the way for him to obtain and disseminate the list of Web sites that N2H2 blocks. The Seattle-based company filed a motion to dismiss the case on Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston. The motion argues that Mr. Edelman has no standing to sue because the company has never threatened him with legal action. Mr. Edelman's suit is a preemptive strike against N2H2. He says he fears that the company will take action against him under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if he proceeds with research on bypassing the company's encryption, which restricts access to its list of blocked sites. He says he wants to publish his results. The digital-copyright act makes it a crime to circumvent a technology designed to control access to a copyrighted work. Mr. Edelman's suit, filed in July, asks the judge to interpret his research as a fair-use exception to the act, or to declare as unconstitutional the portion of the act that would inhibit his research. (See an article from The Chronicle, August 9.) But in its motion, N2H2 says Mr. Edelman is asking the court "to engage in futile speculation." "It is impossible to know whether Edelman's ill-defined future activities will or will not violate N2H2's standard license, the [digital-copyright law], or any other law, or if N2H2 ever will choose to enforce any of those rights against him," the motion reads. The company's argument is similar to the one the recording industry made last year as it sought to defend itself against a lawsuit brought by Edward W. Felten, a Princeton University computer scientist. Mr. Felten had said that he feared the recording industry would sue him under the digital-copyright law if he and other researchers proceeded with research on encryption that limits access to digital music. The judge in that case sided with the recording industry, saying there was no conflict between the litigants. (See an article from The Chronicle, December 14, 2001.) The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Mr. Edelman, believes N2H2, however, will have a harder time than the recording industry convincing a judge that no conflict exists between the litigants. In a filing in August with the Securities and Exchange Commission, N2H2 stated that it will take legal action against those who threaten its trade secrets. And while the recording industry had backed down on its threat to sue Mr. Felten, N2H2 has made no such retreat, says Ann Beeson, an ACLU lawyer who is representing Mr. Edelman. Mr. Edelman quotes from the SEC filing, and says he's had "multiple clear reasons to feel threatened of a suit in response to his research."
Background articles from The Chronicle:
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 Plaintiffs in Michigan undergraduate-admissions case ask U.S. Supreme Court for speedy review U.S. appeals court finds Wisconsin's fee system in compliance with neutrality test Yale Law School temporarily allows military recruiters to return to campus Lawmakers at hearing on college-accreditation system call for more accountability "Report card" on states and higher education finds better student preparation, mixed opportunities Availability of grants largely offset tuition increases for low-income students, U.S. report says President of N.Y.'s Hamilton College steps down amid controversy over speech U. of Southern Maine settles with professor in dispute over comments on videotape Emory law professor faces charges of verbal and physical harassment Cuts in college computing budgets are wider and deeper, survey finds SCT buys Campus Pipeline for $42-million Web-filtering company asks judge to throw out law student's suit |
Copyright © 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education